Apparatus for applying markers to wire



Jan. 26, 1960 Filed May 12, 1959 H. J. KROBATH APPARATUS FOR APPLYINGMARKERS TO WIRE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 26, 1960 H. J. KROBATH 2,922,540

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING MARKERS T0 WIRE Filed May 12, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet2 AIR VALVE Jan. 26, 1960 H. J. KROBATH 2,922,540

APPARATUS FOR APPLYING MARKERS T0 WIRE Filed May 12, 1959 5 Sheets-Sheet3 United States Patent APPARATUS FOR APPLYING MARKERS TO WIRE HansJohann Krobath, Glen Cove, N.Y., assignor to Abilities, Inc., Albertson,Long Island, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application May 12, 1959,Serial No. 812,685

v 13 Claims. (Cl. 216-29) The present invention relates to apparatus forapplying labels or markers to wire, the term wire being used broadly toinclude cables, bars, strands, rods, etc.

In wiring harnesses and other wiring systems for electrical andelectronic equipment, it is necessary to have each wire identified. Thisis conveniently done by means of adhesive tape which passes around thewire and has opposite ends adhered to each other to form a tab. Thetapes marking diiferent wires are distinguished from one another bycolor, letters, numbers, characters or other indicia. Heretofore, tapemarkers of this kind have been applied by hand. However, this has been alaborious and expensive operation particularly since complicated wiringsystems may have a very large number of wires and since each wire mustbe marked at least adjacent each end and sometimes at intermediatepoints.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus forapplying markers to wires rapidly and economically. The characteristics,objects and advantages of apparatus in accordance with the presentinvention will be more fully understood from the following descriptionand claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings whichillustrate by way of example preferred embodiments of the invention. Inthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan showing apparatus embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a portion of wire with a markerapplied to it.

Figs. 3a and 3b are together a partial side elevation, partially insection, showing apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken approximately on the line 4-4 in Fig. 1.

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are enlarged fragmentary side elevations shownpartially in section and illustrating successive phases in the operationof the machine.

Fig. 8 is a partial side elevation illustrating the operation of theapparatus.

Fig. 9 is a wiring diagram showing control circuits for the apparatusand Fig. 10 is a partial side elevation illustrating a modification.

The embodiment of the invention shown by way of example in the drawingscomprises a supporting structure or frame 1 which supports the operatingparts of the apparatus. A continuous length of adhesive tape T that isto be applied to a wire is fed over a roller 2 and feed table 3 onto asupporting surface 4 (Fig. 5). A second supporting surface 5 is locatedat a slightly lower level than the supporting surface 4 and is separatedfrom the supporting surface 4 by a gap or slot 6 which extendstransversely of the direction of travel of the tape T. The diiference inlevel of the two supporting surfaces is preferably about the thicknessof the tape T. On opposite sides of the supporting surface 4 there areprovided guide blocks 7 which guide the tape laterally and have inclinedend faces 8 which slope downwardly and in a direction opposite to thedirection of movement of the tape. A wire W to which an adhesive tapemarker is to be applied is positioned in the acute angle between theinclined end faces 8 of the guide block '7 and the supporting surface 4and extends transversely of the tape as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The tape T is preferably a plastic, paper, fabric or other strip havingon one side an adhesive surface 'which will adhere to itself. A portionof the tape T is wrapped around the wire W to form a marker by means ofa head 10 carried by a reciprocating plunger 11 which is guided in itsreciprocation so as to move the head 10 in a selected path. The plunger11 is reciprocated mechanically, electrically or by fluid pressure. Inthe embodiment illustrated by way of example in Figs. 1 and 3b, themeans for reciprocating the plunger 11 comprises a cylinder 12 to whichair under pressure is supplied by a line 13 under control of anelectrically operated valve 14 connected to a supply line 15. When thevalve 14 is opened, air is supplied to the cylinder 12 to move theplunger to the left as viewed in Fig. 3b, the plunger being connected toa piston (not shown) in the cylinder. Return movement of the plunger 11in the opposite direction is effected by a compression spring (notshown) enclosed in the cylinder 12 and acting between the end of thecylinder and the piston.

The electrically operated air valve 14- is controlled by a switch 17having an actuating lever. 18. The switch 17 is connected in circuitwith the air valve as illustrated in Fig. 9 so that when the switch 17is actuated by pressure on the lever 18 it supplies current to the valve14 which is thereby opened to supply air to the cylinder 12 and move theplunger 11 to the left as viewed in Fig. 317. When pressure on the lever18 is removed the air supply valve is closed and a release port isopened to permit the plunger to return to its initial position underaction of the return spring to complete a cycle. While the switch 17can, if desired, be controlled photoelectrically or by contact with thewire W, it is shown arranged for manual operation, the actuating lever18 being located adjacent the position of the wire W and near thesupporting surface 4 so as to be actuated conveniently by a finger ofthe operator holding the wire W.

The cylinder 12 is supported by pivots 21 so as to swing about atransverse horizontal axis located adjacent the rear end of thecylinder. The pivotal mounting of the cylinder 12 permits the assemblycomprising the plunger 11 and cylinder 12 to swing about the pivots 21as the plunger is reciprocated so that during its reciprocation, theplunger can be moved transversely in a vertical direction by associatedguide means to move the head 10 in a selected path. The means forguiding the plunger 11 is shown as comprising an approximatelytriangular cam 23 fixed to and carried by an arm 24 swingable about apivot 25 having a horizontal pivotal axis parallel to that of thecylinder pivots 21. The arm 24 carrying the cam 23 is biased downwardlyagainst a selectively positioned stop by a spring 26. The cam 23 isengaged by a cam follower on the plunger 11, shown in the form of alaterally projecting pin 27 (Fig. 1). During forward movement of theplunger 11 (toward the left as viewed in Fig. 8), the pin 27 rides up anupwardly inclined face 23a of the cam to lift the plunger 11, and thenalong a substantially horizontal upper face 23b of the cam 23. At theend of the forward movement of the plunger, the pin 27 drops down overthe nose of the cam. On the return stroke of the plunger, the pin 27engages the downwardly sloping lower face 230 ofthe cam and therebylifts the cam 23 so that the arm 24 swings upwardly about its pivot 25:to theposition shown in broken lines in Fig. 8. At the end of thereturn stroke of the plunger the pin 27 clears the lower rear point ofthe cam 23 so that the cam rides off of the pin, and the arm 24 togetherwith the cam 23 drops back to its initial position.

The resulting movement of the head 10 is illustrated in Figs. 3b, 5, 6and 7. In its initial position (Fig. 3b) the head 10 is spaced from theinclined end faces of the guide blocks 7 in the direction of movement ofthe tape. A forward portion of the head 10 rests on an end portion ofthe tape T supported on the surface 4 with its adhesive side up. Withthe parts in this position, a Wire W is placed transversely of the tapeand against the inclined end faces 3 of the guide blocks 7. The switch17 is then actuated by means of the lever 18 to start the cycle ofmovement of the head 10.

As the head 10 moves forwardly (to the left) it is raised by engagementof the pin 27 with the cam 23 and passes over the wire W as illustratedin Fig. 5. During this movement an end portion of the tape is wrapped uparound the wire W and is peeled progressively of the head it At the endof the forward movement of the plunger 11, the pin 27 drops off of thenose of cam 23 to permit the head to drop down onto the tape T asillustrated in Fig. 6. It will be noted that the length of the stroke ofthe plunger is such as to bring the head 10 just past the wire W. Arearward portion of the head 10 engages the end portion of the tape thathas been folded over the wire and presses it against the adhesive faceof an adjacent portion of tape. The forward portion of the head it)overlies the adhesive face of a further portion of tape. The head it} isthen moved toward the left to its initial position as illustrated inFig. 7 carrying the wire W and tape T with it and thereby drawing thetape forwardly with a feeding movement. When the head reaches itsinitial position, the folded-over portion overlies the supportingsurface 5 which is lower and hence permits the forward portion of thehead to drop down into firm engagement with the adjacent portion of tapeon supporting surface 4. The tape is then severed adjacent the end ofthe folded-over portion to complete the operation.

Means for automatically severing the tape T is shown in the drawings(Figs. 1, 3b and 4) as comprising a small double edged knife blade 30which is reciprocable transversely of the tape in the slot 6 betweentape supporting Surfaces 4 and 5 and a slot 10a in the head 10 whichregisters with the slot 6 when the head is at the end of its movement asillustrated in Fig. 7. The knife blade 30 is shown (Fig. 4) as beingconnected by a screw 31 to a knife holder 32 which is pivoted at 33. Theblade carrier 32 is swingable about its pivot 33 by means of a solenoid34 having an armature 35 connected to the blade carrier by a connectingrod 36 which is pivotally connected to the armature 35 and to the bladecarrier 32. In its rest position, the blade 30 is at one side of thetape T with the point of the blade approximately level with the tape.When the solenoid 34 is energized, the armature 35 moves toward theright as viewed in Fig. 4 and the blade carrier 32 is swung about itspivot 33 in a clockwise direction to move the blade 30 transversely ofthe tape so that the tape is thereby severed. On its return movement,the blade 30 is moved across the tape in a reverse direction to assurecomplete severance.

in the embodiment illustrated by way of example in the drawings, thesolenoid 34 is controlled by an interval time switch 19 and by a microswitch 37 (Fig. 3b) which is located under the swinging arm 34 carryingthe cam 23 and has an operating member engageable by the arm 24 when thecam 23 drops off of the pin 27 at the end of the return movement of theplunger 11. The switches are connected as shown in the wiring diagram ofFig. 9. The switch 19 is of the time delay interval timer type to supplycurrent to the solenoid 34 a selected short interval of time after theswitch 37 is actuated and to continue the supply of current for afurther short interval of time, for example 0.1 second. The slightdelayassures V tape as the tape passes over the feed roll 42.

that the head is completely home before the cutting operation. Thesolenoid 34 is thus energized momentarily to actuate the blade 30 andthereby sever the tape T when the head 10 has completed its cycle ofmovement and has returned to its rest position as illustrated in Fig. 7.The solenoid is then deenergized by action of the interval switch 37 andknife carrier and knife are returned to their rest position by a spring38.

When the tape is severed by the knife 30 as illustrated in Fig. 7 thecycle of operations is completed and the wire is removed from themachine. It will be seen that a portion of the tape is wrapped aroundthe wire and adhered to an adjacent portion of tape so as to form a tabT on the wire as illustrated in Fig. 2. The tape is of a distinctivecolor or is previously printed with numbers or other characters toidentify the wire to which the tape is applied.

The tape may, if desired, be supplied from a roll which has beenpreviously printed, for example during the manufacture of tape.Alternatively the tape may be printed during the process of applying itto the wire as in a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustratedin Fig. 3a. In this embodiment adhesive tape from a roll 40 supported ona spindle 41 is fed over a feed roller 42 on a motor driven shaft 43.The roller 42 is preferably formed of nylon or other firm, resilientmaterial. A rotatable printing wheel 44 engages the non-adhesive face ofthe On its periphery the printing wheel 44 is provided with a series oftype characters arranged so as to print the desired number or other coderepeatedly on the tape. Ink is supplied to the type on the printer wheel44 by suitable inking rollers 45 and 46. By reason of its adhesivecharacter, the tape T tends to stick to the feed roll 42 but is readilyremoved therefrom by a slight pull. From the feed roll 42 the tapepasses through the tape applying mechanism illustrated in Figs. 1 and3b. As the tape is progressively fed forwardly by operation of thereciprocating head 10 as described above, it is pulled from the roller42. The driving motor for the feed roll 42 is controlled by a microswitch 47 located in a position to be engaged by the tape when aselected portion of tape has been stripped from the roll 42 by the tapeapplying mechanism. The feed roll 42 is thereupon motor driven in acounterclockwise direction to print more tape and make it available forapplication to the wire. The feeding and printing mechanism is thusautomatically controlled in accordance with the operation of the tapeapplying mechanism.

Instead of being reciprocated by fluid pressure as illustrated in Fig.1, the plunger 11 may be reciprocated electrically as illustrated in theembodiment shown in Fig. 10. In this embodiment, the plunger 11 isconnected to a piston 51 in a cylinder 52. The piston 51 is connected bya connecting rod 53 to the armature 54 of a solenoid 55. When thesolenoid 55 is energized the armature 54, pistons 51 and plunger 11 aremoved toward the left as viewed in Fig. 10. Return movement is effectedby a coil spring 56 enclosed in the cylinder 52 and acting between theend of the cylinder and the piston 51. Rate of movement of the piston 51is controlled by means of adjustable air valves 57 and 58 which regulatethe rate at which air is admitted to and exhausted from opposite ends ofthe cylinder. By suitable adjustable of the valves 57 and 58 the rate ofmovement of the plunger 11 is regulated as desired. While the plunger 11is shown as being moved toward the left by energizing the solenoid S5and toward the right by the spring 56 it will be understood that thisaction may be reversed if desired. The assembly comprising the cylinder52 and solenoid 55 is supported by a frame 59 which is pivotally mountedto swing about a pivot 69 corresponding to the pivots 21 of theembodiment shown in Fig. 1.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown by way ofexample and particularly described, it will be understood that theinvention is in no way limited to these embodiments and that othermodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Mechanism for applying an adhesive tape marker to a wire, comprisingmeans for guiding an adhesive tape to be applied, including a surfacesupporting the tape with the adhesive side up, means for supplying tapeto said guide means, means for severing tape supported by said surface,means for positioning a wire transversely on said tape supported on saidsurface between said severing means and said supplying means, a headengage able with said tape supported on said surface and means formoving said head from a rest position in which said head engages theadhesive side of an end portion of said tape supported on said surface,upwardly and over said wire in a direction toward said supplying meansand then downwardly to fold said end portion of tape over said wire andbring it into engagement with an adjacent portion of tape while bringingsaid head into engagement with a further portion of said tape, andthereafter returning said head to said rest position, and means foroperat ing said severing means to sever said tape between saidfolded-over portion and said further portion.

2. Mechanism for applying an adhesive tape marker to a wire, comprisingmeans for guiding an adhesive tape to be applied, including a surfacesupporting said tape with the adhesive side up, means for supplying tapeto said guide means, means for severing tape supported by said surface,means for positioning a wire transversely on said tape supported on saidsurface between said severing means and said supplying means, a plungermoveable in a direction generally lengthwise of said tape and alsotoward and away from said surface, a head carried by said plunger andengageable with tape supported on said surface, means for reciprocatingsaid plunger and simultaneously guiding it in a selected path to movesaid head from a rest position in which said head engages the adhesiveside of an end portion of said tape supported on said surface, upwardlyand over said wire in a direction toward said supplying means and thendownwardly to fold said end portion of tape over said wire and bring itinto engagement with an adjacent portion of tape while bringing saidhead into engagement with a further portion of said tape, and thereafterreturning said head to said rest position, and means for operating saidsevering means to sever said tape between said folded-over portion andsaid further portion.

3. Mechanism according to claim 2, in which said means for reciprocatingsaid plunger comprises an air cylinder and piston, means for supplyingair to said cylinder and means for controlling the supply of air to saidcylinder.

4. Mechanism according to claim 3, in which the means for controllingthe supply of air to said cylinder comprised an electrically operatedair valve, means for supplying electricity to energize said valve andswitch means controlling the supply of electricity to said valve.

5. Mechanism according to claim 3, further comprising means pivotallysupporting said cylinder to swing about a transverse axis to permitmovement of said head toward and away from said surface as said plungerreciprocates.

6. Mechanism according to claim 2, in which said means for guiding saidplunger during its reciprocation comprises a cam and a cam follower.

7. Mechanism according to claim 2, in which said means for guiding saidplunger during its reciprocation comprises a member pivotally mounted ona support, a cam carried by said pivoted member and a cam follower onsaid plunger engaging said cam to raise the plunger during a forwardstroke of said plunger and to swing said member about its pivot during areturn stroke of the plunger.

8. Mechanism according to claim 7, in which said means for operatingsaid tape severing means is electrically operated and in which switchmeans associated with and actuated by said pivoted member controls saidoperating means.

9. Mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising means for printingidentification characters on said tape, said printing means beingdisposed between said tape supplying means and said guide means.

10. Mechanism according to claim 9, in which said printing meanscomprises a printing roller having characters on its periphery, meansfor applying ink to said characters and a pressure roller pressing saidtape against said printing roller as said tape passes from saidsupplying means to said guide means.

11. Mechanism for applying an adhesive tape marker to a wire, comprisingmeans for guiding an adhesive tape to be applied, including a firsttape-supporting surface and a second tape-supporting surface spaced fromsaid first surface by a narrow slot, means for supplying tape to saidguide means so as to pass sequentially over said surfaces with theadhesive side up, said slot extending transversely of the tape, meansfor severing tape supported by said surfaces, said severing meanscomprising a cutter movable through said slot and means for moving saidcutter, means for positioning a wire transversely on said tape supportedon said first surface between said slot and said supplying means, a headengageable with tape supported on said surfaces and means for movingsaid head cyclically from a starting position in which said head engagesthe adhesive side of an end portion of tape supported on said firstsurface, upwardly and over said wire in a direction towardsaid supplyingmeans to fold said end portion back over said wire while progressivelypeeling it off of said head, then downwardly toward said surfaces topress said end portion into adhesive engagement with an adjacent portionof the tape and bring said head into engagement with a further portionof the tape and thereafter returning said head to the starting positionand thereby advancing said tape so that said folded end portion is pastsaid slot, said severing means being operated to cut said tape adjacentthe end of said folded end portion while it is held between said headand said surfaces.

12. Mechanism according to claim 11, in which said second surface islower than said first surface by an amount approximately equal to thethickness of said tape.

13. Mechanism according to claim 11, in which said head has a transverseslot registering with said slot between said surfaces when the head isin starting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

